Inventory Site Record

Mill Hill Gardens originated as the private sports grounds for the residents of the Mill Hill Park Estate, a leafy upmarket development built from 1877 by William Willett and his son, also William. This had been the Acton estate of Richard White, who had purchased the land here in 1809 and lived in the mansion he built, Acton Hill House, until 1849. Residents of the new Mill Hill Park Estate established lawn tennis and cricket clubs from the early 1880s, and the grounds were managed by a committee of residents. At one time there were 4 grass tennis courts, areas for croquet and golf putting, and social events were held here. In the 1960s the ground was taken over by Ealing Council and opened as a public park named Mill Hill Gardens.

Previous / Other name:

Mill Hill Park

Site location:

Avenue Road, Acton

Postcode:

W3 8QH

What 3 Words:

drag.quiet.types

Type of site:

Public Park

Borough:

Ealing

Open to public?

Yes

Opening times:

7.30am - dusk

Special conditions:

Facilities:

Play area

Events:

Public transport:

Tube: Acton Town (Piccadilly, District)

Citymapper    
Google Map    
streetmap.co.uk

Research updated:

01/05/2017

Last minor changes:

14/07/2022

Please check with the site owner or manager for latest news. www.ealing.gov.uk

Evidence of early human occupation has been found here, including Stone Age, Roman and Saxon pottery, as well as Bronze Age burial urns. After the Norman Conquest the land was in the possession of the Bishops of London, with the area that is now Mill Hill Park let to a family called Fitzaluf in the C12th and C13th. In the 1220s and 1230s Peter Fitzaluf gave c.200 acres of his land to the Dean of St Paul's Westminster, and this became part of the 2nd Manor of Acton, or Acton Under the Wood. In 1544 lands belonging to St Paul's was confiscated under the Dissolution of the Monasteries and passed to John Lord Russell, Lord Privy Seal, on whose death his extensive estate went to his son Francis. What is now the Mill Hill Park area subsequently went to the 5th Earl of Worcester and his son Edward Somerset, 2nd Marquis of Worcester. There are references to the 'cherry orchards of Acton, which belonged to the Somerset family, Lords of Acton Manor'.

The estate of 800 acres was purchased in 1736 for Christopher Benjamin Lethieullier, a wealthy merchant, MP and Director of the Bank of England, but his nephew who later inherited the estate sold it piecemeal, largely for development. The area here was part of the meadows and pasture of Mill Hill Fields, probably so called for a circular mound marked Windmill Hill on a map of 1799. The Acton Manor of 53 acres was sold to 'Richard White and others' in 1809. Richard White (c.1767-1849), a celebrated lawyer, lived here in the house he built, Acton Hill House, and the estate was laid out with fine grounds. The house had a terrace walk on the south side having views over fields and market gardens towards Surrey, and a 'fine avenue of elms' ran to Acton from Brentford Lane, now called Gunnersbury Lane. There were east and west lodges, the latter still existing on the corner of Avenue Road and Gunnersbury Lane. According to the 1842 tithe awards, White's estate included a number of Pleasure Grounds, an orchard, a plantation, a large fish pond and a wooded arbour. White and his wife invited local people to events in the grounds, including school children who were given fruit from the gardens, and evidently bees were kept here. Richard White died in 1849 and was buried at St Mary's Church Acton (q.v.), leaving his property to his second wife Mary.

In 1859 Mary White sold the estate to Walter Elliott Whittingham and the British Land Company. The house and its immediate grounds were purchased by Messrs. Edward C Buxton and J W Previte, and Acton Hill House became the Buxton family home, although the fields north of Avenue Road were built over. Buxton was buried in Churchfield Road Cemetery, now St Mary's Burial Ground Rest Garden (q.v.), where there is a memorial to him.

In 1877 the house and grounds were sold to William Willett (1837-1913), builder and developer, who in partnership with his son, also William (1856-1915), laid out Heathfield Road, Avenue Crescent and Avenue Gardens for their new Mill Hill Park Estate. Although Acton Hill House was largely demolished, what is left is now Hanmer House in Avenue Crescent. The Willetts gained a reputation for the high quality of their building projects, which included developments in Kensington and Hampstead. The attention to detail and emphasis on high standards of design and building of the Mill Hill Park Estate is on a par with the contemporary nearby Bedford Park Estate (q.v.) and the work of Norman Shaw. In the 1870s, at the same time that the houses were being built on the three roads that comprised the estate, avenues of lime and plane trees were planted. A Metropolitan railway station opened in 1877, originally known as Mill Hill Park but later renamed Acton Town. The Estate was largely completed by 1910 but further houses were added in the 1920s, and the Willett Estate office oversaw management of the estate until c.1939. The younger Willett became famous for his advocacy of Daylight Saving, although the Daylight Savings Bill was eventually passed in 1916, a year after Willett's death. A monument to him is found in Petts Wood (q.v.). There is a plaque commemorating him on 16 Avenue Crescent, the house he built for himself in the Mill Hill Park Estate and where he lived for 12 years.,

For nearly a century, from the early days of the estate until the 1960s, the area that is now the public park was a private resource for all householders within the Mill Hill Park Estate. Managed by a committee of residents, the ground had 4 grass tennis courts, croquet lawn and a golf putting area, catering for the Estate's private lawn tennis club, which was established in June 1884. The Estate also had a cricket club with two teams. The ground was also regularly used for club social events and entertainments such as tea dances, parties and an annual fete and 'café chantant'. A report in the Acton Gazette described one such event: "The grounds presented a most charming appearance, outlined with hundreds of fairy lights and Chinese lanterns. Chairs were arranged around little decorated tables, so guests could be seated or promenade. Entertainments included performances by the Blue Viennese Band, a cornet solo, such recitations as 'The Telegram' by Miss Florence Watson, and a special mime act, the Living Marionettes."

This sports ground formerly covered a larger area, but part of this was lost when Nos. 23-35 Heathfield Road were built in 1909-12. The houses backing onto the grounds had gardens with low fences and small gates opening directly into the communal area so that the inhabitants and their children could use it as an extension of their own gardens.

Mill Hill Park was taken over by Ealing Council during the 1960s when the Victorian terraces in South Acton were demolished and replaced with tower blocks to the south of the Conservation Area. The garden was opened to the public and renamed Mill Hill Gardens, continuing to provide one of the main local green spaces for people in the area.

Mill Hill Park Residents Association works with Ealing Council to ensure that the park is well maintained. A new playground was installed in 2011 and more recently a gate locking up rota was restored. The park is also used for community events, such as the Picnic in the Park. Future plans for improvements include erecting a new pavilion, recalling the pavilion that had once existed when the grounds were first laid out, planting decorative trees at the park entrance as well as creating an attractive arched entrance into the park.

Sources consulted:

Mill Hill Park Acton History on www.millhillparkacton.org/mill-hill-park/history; Ealing Borough Council, Mill Hill Park Conservation Area Appraisal, 2007

Grid ref:

TQ196797 (519646,179817)

Size in hectares:

Site ownership:

LB Ealing

Site management:

Leisure and Parks Service; Mill Hill Park Residents' Association

Date(s):

1877

Designer(s):

Listed structures:

None

On National Heritage List for England (NHLE), Parks & Gardens:

No

Registered common or village green on Commons Registration Act 1965:

No

Protected under London Squares Preservation Act 1931:

No

Local Authority Data

The information below is taken from the relevant Local Authority's planning legislation, which was correct at the time of research but may have been amended in the interim. Please check with the Local Authority for latest planning information.

On Local List:

No

In Conservation Area:

Yes

Conservation Area name:

Mill Hill Park

Tree Preservation Order:

No

Nature Conservation Area:

No

Green Belt:

No

Metropolitan Open Land:

No

Special Policy Area:

Yes - Archaeological Interest Area

Other LA designation:

None

Mill Hill Park, June 2015. Photograph Tatiana Collins.

Click a photo to enlarge.